Ignite and Stream Energy - Is it a Scam?

[NewdestinyX]

We're not trolls

I can't stand sites like this what with no knowledge of what they're talking about trashing legitimate companies. The reason why you see '1-2-3' posts from new people is NOT because we're trolls. It's because -- like many others -- wanting to find out about Stream Energy as a biz opportunity and what others are saying - we GOOGLE it -- and THIS thread is the 3rd or 4th hit on Google. We read the thread -- and we have some experience with Stream/Ignite and we 'sign up' so we can post and tell the 'real' story. I'm a brand new rep for Ignite/Stream and have in 2 weeks made my investment back and I'm NOT a sales type. Ignite is no more a scam than Amway is. It is true that MLM's can break down way at the bottom of the downline after many, many years but only if they're selling something people will only buy once. With a return customer based product like vitamins or soaps in Amway - or in this case everyone pays an energy bill every month -- then there will ALWAYS be room for new associates and customers.

I DO agree with the person who said that if you're ONLY paid on getting people INTO the MLM then that 'could' be a scam. What protects you against pyramid scams is knowing if there's a PRODUCT being sold and not just a MARKETING SYSTEM. When the product is ONLY a marketting system that you pay for up front.. That's 9 times out of 10, a scam. BUT if there's a GREAT product you actually SELL AND an MLM/network model selling system then that's a powerful combo. And those are the ones that get approved and supported by the Better Business Bureaus and are never sued or shut down. That's why Stream is on target to be a billion $ co in only 3 years. And as each new state opens up - it will grow and grow and make more and more wealthy people. THERE ARE pyramid schemes out there. This isn't one of them. By the way 'all networks marketting' models LOOK like a PYRAMID - but not all are PYRAMID 'scams'. The term pyramid has gotten a bad name.

There is plenty of $ to dole out to reps too as even with the highest payouts to the most successful reps, Stream is only paying out $6.50 per customer signed up - so there's plenty of $ to go around for many, many years to come. Stream's been around since 2005. Most MLM 'scams' die in 1-2 years. LIke Amway - Stream will be around for a VERY long time.

But I SO resent being called a troll. The reason I'll probably only ever have '1' post here is because I need to rebutt the nonsense being spewed by the 'advice givers' with 2000+ posts who I guess have set themselves up and judge and jury by mere virtue of their post count. What a crock.

I am a 2000+ post 'member' of several forums.. Just look up my screen name NewdestinyX and you'll see I'm not just some random 'plant' from Ignite. I have a full time job that is 'not Ignite/Stream'.

Ezbee, a few posts back did a wonderful analysis of why an MLM model would work very well for an energy supplier. Thank you, Ezbee.

JPO is a 'true' troll - which is defined on internet forums as someone who comes calling names and desires to sow discontent in threads. He/She is the real troll here. Again -- and I can't emphasize this too much -- pyramid 'schemes' usually have no 'product' to sell -- only a 'system'. They also are mostly on the internet only as a sales approach - no personal contact. People 'prefer' these many times because they can be 'anonymous'. And it feels 'weird' asking friends and family. Nobody likes the 'stigma' of the 70's Amway dealer and inviting people to secret meetings they dont' tell you much about. I am very straightforward with people.

I tell them -- I can save about $15-20 a month on the PA electricity bills and that I've been able to make back my initial investment in only 2 weeks. They are immediately interested. Ignite/Stream is a solid company, like Amway and Mary Kay and Tupperware that has a 'product' and a 'system'. Those are NOT schemes. And the real power I saw in Ignite and why I joined was that 'power' is something 'every home in America' MUST HAVE. You don't HAVE to have vitamins, soap products, more Tupperware and makeup. But you DO have to have 'power' coming into your home. That's a product you can collect residual income on forever. And to show you I'm straight up -- IF you LOSE a customer to another energy supplier you DO have to replace that person to maintain your residual income. But that's the way the 'real world' works too, gang.

[jeffrey]

The term pyramid has gotten a bad name.

I actually laughed reading that...

[NancyZ]

Another Ignite Story

I know an Independent Associate in Pennsylvania who has been working for Ignite for over two months now & he is convinced he will make a lot of money. To date, he received $200, less their $3 check fee (he will also be responsible for paying taxes on this). He had to pay $300 to sign up with them & they are charging him a $25 per month website fee. He has really no other source of income at this time. After a few energy sales for which at his level gets fifty cents a month residual income, their main goal is for him to sign up “friends & family” to also sell the energy & he will make money when they make money. They offer all types of special incentives which always have time restraints on them. Look at their Income Disclosure & you will see only 13% actually make a living on this.

The CEO of Stream Energy recently said that 70% of the sales force "got their money back" is insulting to the people who attend the cult-like meetings they hold in the cities they are targeting. They do not tell them they will just get their money back, they tell them they will make a lot of money from this. So much so that they can live the high life while others have to work. In a short time, all they will have to do is go to their mailbox & checks will start rolling in. They infer lavish vacations & all the time in the world the for family. They have these "shills" at the meetings talking about all the money they made & tell the audience they can do the same. One particular shill called Randy (the Cowboy) from AK brags about how stupid he is & how stupid you can be too & the money will be rolling in anyway cause everyone uses energy (yup). How insulting, but the audience laughs instead of running for the hills.

Another motivational speaker, Jennifer, certainly knows how to play the audience. She wrapped her arms around my friend to take a picture & even jokingly offered to put her tongue in his ear. He said they had developed a "rapport" after two meetings. Is this the type of professional woman they want representing their company? She was obviously trained to target gullible men & flirt with them just to get the poor fools to sign up.

Finally, there is no background check, resume or reference request, for any of these "Independent Associates". It appears they will sign up anyone as long as they get their registration fee. I sincerely hope NEWDESTINYX keeps his day job.

[CommonSenseBusiness]

Is it a business!

I’m fascinated by this thread! Those who believe in Ignite only do so because they think they’ve been validated by making their money back and then some (very little “some”). Those who don’t believe in ignite don’t believe in MLM’s .

Sure it’s easy to get your money back, everyone has a couple of friends and family. What happens when that easy well runs dry? Where do you go from there?

What’s being missed is the big picture, does it make sense for customers to switch to ignite (which I’ll now call Stream)? Shouldn’t that be a MAIN concern for those who have joined the Ignite MLM sales line?

In these four pages of ramblings there are few, if any, who speak about how much money the end user will save. Will they have to sign a long term contract? Will there be a fee if they do want to switch? What if energy costs go down, are they stuck at the higher rate? How has the service of STREAM been for those who have switched?

None of this seems to be any concern of those who just want to make a living, earn some extra money, or get as many people in their “down line” as possible. Is this way of thinking a good legit business practice?

For those of you who do sign up energy customers and not just other marketers, doesn’t it make you upset that people who are looking to ONLY get a better deal on energy, can call STREAM directly and get the savings? Why doesn’t Ignite REWARD those who paid into the company by randomly REFERRING calling customers to “marketing employees” like you?

The bottom line for me is not whether it’s a scam, pyramid, MLM, legit opportunity to make money, but whether or not it a “Good” business. Do you really want your friends and family involved if the company shuts off their electricity even though they’ve paid their bill? Do you want them stuck in some MLM which breaks apart around them when they’ve been promised riches?

Last but not least, what shares do you own in the company? If Stream is sold or changes management, what is it worth to you? Will you still be receiving your income on a monthly basis?

If I’m interested in saving money I’ll take a look at Stream and give them a call, but I’ll probably look at companies started by those who have real experience in the energy field

[GloriaJ]

Ignite

I live in PA and joined ignite 3 weeks ago. I have made $1200, minus a $299 entry fee and $24.95 website fee. I did this by bringing 3 people into the business and teaching them to do what I did. It works. There is major potential here. someone has written a blog calling Stream Energy a scam. So far from the truth. Must be a competitor who doesn't know any other way to get business for their company! I love Ignite!

[NancyZ]

Gloria $1,200 in just three weeks (or $400 per week)!! You are going to have to hope that the 3 people you signed are as ambitious as you and they get people to sign up, and so on and so. I read that Ignite signed up 4,000 people in PA. Can you do the math Gloria, that's about $1,200,000 in entry fees, plus that $25 they take from them every month for the generic website which was poorly constructed, and a $3 processing fee for checks. The market is being saturated with Independent Associates. In order to make money from residual income you will need a small army of downliners. Don't forget you are responsible for all taxes, no health insurance, no pension plan. Good luck Gloria.

[CommonSenseBusiness]

Gloria J, what's your business? Marketing lower energy so people can save money, or signing up people to your down line?

If you signed up JUST energy customers, how much would you make? Example: You sign up 10 people to switch their energy provider to Stream (not to partake in the MLM), what is your take from signing up those 10 new customers?

Stream is certainly a legit business, but what you're doing sounds like a Pyramid scheme. Why? Because eventually your down line will crash.

[NancyZ]

Common Sense, Gloria might not want to divulge what the residual fees on energy sales are, so I'll tell you. The Independent Associate I wrote about who had four energy customers in two months gets 50 cents per month per customer, or $2!!!! He still has to pay a $3 processing fee, so you get the picture. The rate varies if he moves up the ladder in Ignite, but his main focus now is getting these "downliners" so they can sign up a few energy people, and so on. If you watch Ignite's compensation video on YouTube you will get a good laugh. It is unbelievable how many people you will need in order to make a living doing this.

[CommonSenseBusiness]

As I figured. The business is really not helping people save on energy, it's finding those who will buy into ones "down line"

Which = not a business at all.

It's a great business for Ignite. 70,000 "marketing" associates if my numbers are correct. That's 23+ million in fees generated with little or no overhead! Good stuff!!!

[NancyZ]

Yes Common, they are doing okay. If the Independent Associates get the manadatory 2 energy customers for Stream, then they are happy. Ignite gets to keep a part of the sign up fee, and still has them on the hook for the $25 per month genertic website. It's a win-win situation for both of them, just not for the poor fools believing the motivational speakers they trot out at the meetings saying they will be millionaires too. To get a decent residual income, you need many downliners who, in turn, must sign up energy customers. To make money, you have to count on so many people to follow through on this also. If they do not, then you make no money from them. This is ridiculous. They offer no health insurance, pension plan, vacation pay, do not even take out taxes. Oh, and until you are promoted and can have your "check" deposited automatically, they charge a $3 processing fee to boot! The Income Disclosure makes it very clear...87% do not make money on this "business" and only 0.11% are millionaires! Yet those "millionaires" go to the meetings and infer everyone can be like them too because everyone uses energy (wink, wink). A married motivational speaker named Jennifer flirts with the gullible guys there and acts inappropriately with men who could be convicted felons for all she knows. Remember, there is no background checks or references required for these people to become Associates. It is laughable. It is scary.

[skimber]

I have just been approached with this opportunity about # days ago and to me it seems like a no brainer. At first it seems to good to be true which in my mind always raise suspicion. But for the fact that i make my initial investment back within the first week and all i have to do is find 3 other people who thinks like me and i can sit back go back to work and let this build itself up with hardly any work from me ignite is going to be big and this is an oppurtunity to get in at the bottom and watch it grow i want to be a part of this... and no i am not a troll as you would call it i did not even sign up yet but i am

[skimber]

As I figured. The business is really not helping people save on energy, it's finding those who will buy into ones "down line"

Which = not a business at all.

It's a great business for Ignite. 70,000 "marketing" associates if my numbers are correct. That's 23+ million in fees generated with little or no overhead! Good stuff!!!

the way i see it the business is about making money and while your making money you can help people save money on there energy... dont hold me to this but its seems as if the want you to recruit people and pay you more for your recruitment's recruits than your own because that is there advertisement. i would rather have 100 people moving my product then 10. if they payed each person for just getting people to sign up then more people would try to keep the business a secret believing they can sign the world up there self

[NancyZ]

Keep your day job

Oh boy SKimber. Just sign up a few people, sit back and watch the money roll in. That's it right? Be sure to keep your day job though. Good luck

[smwarpig63]

.......

Oh boy SKimber. Just sign up a few people, sit back and watch the money roll in. That's it right? Be sure to keep your day job though. Good luck

Of course keep your day job. They tell you to. They in fact say that the soonest you could probably quit your regular job is 18 months into the program (assuming it works as effectively for you as for other people). And even if you can't, you make your initial investment back fairly simply. So after that if I only make an extra 100 bones a month, it's still an extra 100 for me doing nothing.

As far as the "24.95 that you have to pay a month for a poorly put together website", misleading at least, out right lie at worst. You may pay 24.95 a month for a non mandatory website. And if you do get the website and decide it isn't worth the money, you just shut it down.

The only required payment ever is the 299 up front. Which is a no-brainer to take a chance on it. If you dont make it back, than your investment didn't work out. If you do make the first level within 60 days and get $1100, you just made a tripled your investment.

People that can't afford the 299, shouldn't sign up. Or should wait till they have the 299 as extra money and take the chance.


Also, idiots on here (including the administrator, sadly) talk about trolls. That is absurd. using your labeling theory, everyone is a troll when they first sign up. Furthermore, there is an equal amount of "trolls" who are posting negatively about Ignite, which is barely MLM and is not a pyramid scheme.

[NancyZ]

Look I know someone who started this in December. He has barely made his money back and is dishing out that %25 every month. He is spending way too mcuh time on it and nothing is happening. Friends and family are hesitant to get involved in a business venture with a loved one. I have looked at the videos of Randy (the Cowboy), their payment plan on YouTube, even listened to the CD Ignite gives out which is playing non-stop in my friend's car. Most important, was reading the Rules, Compensation Plan, Power Plan, Income Disclosure from Ignit. You need to have many people willing to join up under you in order to make any type of money at this. These motivational speakers at the meeting paint a picture of soon being able to loll around your mailbox waiting for the big bucks to roll in while others have to toil at a "job". They can play with their children, vacation anywhere they wish, buy expensive cars, big houses, golf, etc., etc. My friend told me I was a slave to my job, a job that pays me over $80,000, takes out taxes for me, full medical, dental, 40lK plan, vacation pay, holiday pay, etc. I guarantee you he will never make the money I do. Randy said he is not smart and you will not have to be smart to be a millionaire like him. A female named Jennifer then targets gullible men in the audience to flirt with. It is scary. They do not even care who they take the money from. There is no background check on these people, no reference check, resume request. As long as they have their $300, anyone can be using their name to sell energy. Now that is scary. I am not being negative, simply realistic. This "business" is great for the ones who got in at the beginning, but the average Joes they are targeting at the these hotel meetings will just be sadly disappointed. Look at the Income Disclosure statement for goodness sake! Enough said.